It’s a little unsettling to watch a laid-back Woody Harrelson nibbling a healthy seaweed salad in a luxury hotel suite the morning after watching him play a vicious psychopath named Harlan DeGroat in the rust-belt drama “Out of the Furnace.”

It’s just a movie, but one wonders how the same actor who played the sweet but clueless bartender on the classic TV series “Cheers” could reach so deep inside to bring back such a bone-chilling performance.

“I brought a little bit of Maui with me,” the soft-spoken actor says of the salad that he apparently brought with him on a red-eye flight from his home in Hawaii.

He apologizes for eating in front of me, but I am not about to deny him anything – not after seeing this movie.

Harrelson will explain how he played this character, who is introduced to the audience in the opening scene of the movie. Let’s put it this way; you will have no doubt as to his bad intentions when he meets up later with the hero of the movie, played by Christian Bale.

Bale plays a good man in an economically depressed area of Pennsylvania. He works hard in the mill and always tries to do the right thing with his family. He cares for both his dying father and his younger brother (Casey Affleck), an Army veteran who is deeply troubled after multiple tours in Iraq. Bale’s character is imprisoned after a tragic accident, and he returns home to discover that his brother is mixed up with the likes of Harlan DeGroat. Heaviness ensues.

This holiday season is a busy time for Harrelson, and it’s not all heavy and violent. It’s a little violent in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” in which the actor reprises his role as a former Hunger Games victor who helps Katniss, and there is considerably less violence in the animated film “Free Birds,” in which Harrelson voices a turkey.

Harrelson, who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a casualty notification officer in the 2010 film “The Messenger,” will be seen next month opposite Matthew McConaughey in the HBO cop drama “True Detective.”

Oh, if you’re expecting the politically outspoken Woody Harrelson in this interview, you won’t be disappointed.

Q.I have heard countless actors say that the best way to play a bad guy is not to play him as a bad guy because bad guys don’t see themselves as evil. Your character in this film is so evil, I was wondering how you found his essence?

A. If you’re going to play a character like this, you have to care about the person in a weird way. You might ask, “How could you care about Harlan DeGroat?” Well, it’s only through back story and stuff, and I asked Scott (director Scott Cooper) for his back story. Then you add a little imagination to that, and there’s your character.

Q. Could you give me an idea of the back story Scott told you?

A. I don’t really like to talk about those things. But if you’re playing someone you loathe, then there’s probably an element of self-loathing in the character.

Q.Are you saying that you don’t like discussing the process of finding a character?

A. I think it’s so damn dull to listen to an actor talk about his process. I want to shoot myself when I hear an actor talking about his process. It might be interesting to some folks but it bores the hell out of me.

Q.Your director said that you told him that you couldn’t wait to shed this character. Is that true?

A. It’s funny. I don’t remember saying that to him but I do remember feeling that way. I could not wait to be done with him.

A. (Laughs) Regardless, this was one of the most uncomfortable characters I’ve ever had to play. I just didn’t like inhabiting him. There was no joy in it. It was a joyless activity, to be sure.

Q. Even more so than playing serial killer Mickey Knox in “Natural Born Killers”?

A. When I played Mickey Knox, I did things to try to make him more charming. In this case, I didn’t want to do any of those things that could make the audience like him. I wanted him to be as unlikable on the screen as he is on the page. You have to do it that way, but I still didn’t like playing him.

Q.But you cashed the check, right?

A. (Laughs) This wasn’t a money project, for sure.

Q.Sorry, that was the print journalist in me. We are always amused by Hollywood salaries.

A. I think we got scale for this one. It was very low budget.

Q. How do you end up with three distinct movies coming out at the same time?

A. I don’t think it’s ideal that they’re all coming out within a month of each other. It’s too much of me doing press and being out there. It’s the way it happened. But it could be worse; at least we’ve got all the bases covered. We’ve got the kids, the tweens and the adults (laughs).

Q.It’s not like you were trying to show the world the complete range of Woody Harrelson?

A. No, there was nothing premeditated about it. It’s just the way it worked out.

Q.How did you get involved with “The Hunger Games” franchise?

A. Through Gary Ross (the director of the first film). I was the fool who turned it down twice. The greatest experience of my life, and I turned it down twice. Luckily, Gary persisted. He said he didn’t have a second choice for the character.

Q.Why was it such a great experience?

A. Everybody working on those films is having fun. It’s just a fun atmosphere, from the cast to the crew. It’s mad fun.

Q.You’ve been active politically for a number of years for a number of causes. Do you think your political activism has hurt your acting career at all?

A. Probably. But in the scheme of things, I don’t care. I have been vocal about some things that have rubbed people the wrong way, but I believe in speaking your truth.

Q.Have you ever had any regrets about speaking out?

A. Only if I’ve hurt anyone personally.

Q.Do you think you’ve gotten a bad rap because of the politics?

A. I think there have been times when journalists have done me wrong in terms of representing me. Some of them haven’t been truthful. But who am I hurting by speaking out?

Q. Were you always someone who spoke his mind? A lot of actors go out of their way to avoid getting political in fear of hurting their careers?

A. It’s the more prudent way to behave. But it’s not me.

Q. In regards to one of your causes, you must be happy about Colorado legalizing the recreational use of marijuana?

A. I never meant to become the poster child for that issue. It just kind of happened because I spoke my mind. People talk about living in a free country, but what is so free about this country? Who’s really free? Try riding down the highway on a motorcycle without a helmet, or riding in your car without a seatbelt. What constitutes freedom to me is that you can’t do anything that hurts another person or hurts someone else’s property. Other than that, you should be free to do what you want. You should be free to visit prostitutes or to use drugs. What business is that of the government? What right do they have to make a plant illegal? I don’t indulge when I’m working or doing interviews, but maybe I want to unwind at the end of the day, and maybe I don’t want to unwind with a cocktail. Maybe I want something else. It should be my decision.

Q. Are you anti-government?

A. I just don’t love what this government has done in the name of liberty, justice and democracy. It’s horrifying what the government has done around the world.

Q.I recently interviewed Matthew McConaughey and we discussed the new HBO series. Have you seen it yet?

A. I haven’t, but Matthew saw the first episode and said it’s great. I haven’t seen it because I live in Maui, which apparently has issues with the Internet. I can’t get connected to anything.

Q.Nobody’s forcing you to live in Maui.

A. That’s true.

Q. Why do you live there?

A. I was living in Costa Rica before that, and I went to a Willie Nelson concert in L.A. one night. His wife Annie came up to me and said, “Willie would like you to come back to the bus.”

Q.I’ve waited my entire life for Willie Nelson’s wife to say that to me.

A. (Laughs) It was pretty great. There’s nothing like having Willie say, “Hey, let’s burn one.” We had a great talk, and he said that if I was ever in Maui, I should visit him, but even if he wasn’t there, I could stay at his house. So, I’m a guy who will take a fellow up on an offer like that. But when I went to his house, I visited the other remote side of the island, and that’s when I really fell in love with Maui. In fact, Willie just left me a message, saying he was on his way to Maui, and that I should save my money (laughs).

Q.I take it you guys play games for money?

A. We play anything, from poker to dominos to chess. If you can bet on it, we play it.

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